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Insanity and Crime: A Medico-Legal Commentary on the Case of George..

Editors of the Journal of Mental Science

A Curious 1864 Case Involving Murder and Insanity Editors of the Journal of Mental Science. Insanity and Crime: A Medico-Legal Commentary on the Case of George Victor Townley. London: John Churchill and Sons, 1864. 47, [1] pp. Octavo (8-3/4" x 5-1/2"). Stab-stitched pamphlet with untrimmed edges bound into recent cloth, printed paper title labels to front board and spine, endpapers added. Moderate toning to text, faint vertical crease through center, small inkspots to a few leaves. $500. * Only edition. In this unusual trial Townley was found sane and guilty of the murder of his fiancee, but insane afterwards, and thus incapable of execution. The discussion of this case in the interesting pamphlets examines, among other related topics, partial, impulsive, and "moral" insanity. OCLC locates 13 copies in North America, 1 in a law library (U.S. Supreme Court).